Графични страници
PDF файл
ePub

No voice, but silence and eternal sleep.

In peace and honour, rest you here, my sons!"-Act III. Sc. 2.

Or, to these, again, from the "Love's Labor's Lost”: —

"Bir. Who sees the heavenly Rosaline,

That, like a rude and savage man of Inde,
At the first opening of the gorgeous east,
Bows not her vassal head, and, stricken blind,
Kisses the bare ground with obedient breast?
What peremptory eagle-sighted eye

Dares look upon the heaven of her brow,

That is not blinded by her majesty?"— Act IV. Sc. 3.

But we have a distinct repetition of almost the same ideas and expression in the following lines from the "Richard II.," written soon afterwards :

"K. Rich. We'll calm the Duke of Norfolk, you, your son." -Act I. Sc. 1.

“Duch. To seek out sorrow that dwells everywhere.”

[blocks in formation]

"Gaunt. This royal throne of kings, this scepter'd isle,

This earth of majesty, this seat of Mars,

This other Eden, demi-paradise;
This fortress, built by Nature for herself,
Against infection and the hand of war;
This happy breed of men, this little world,
This precious stone set in the silver sea,
Which serves it in the office of a wall,
Or as a moat defensive to a house,

Against the envy of less happier lands;

This blessed plot, this earth, this realm, this England,
This nurse, this teeming womb of royal kings,

Fear'd by their breed and famous for their birth,
Renowned for their deeds as far from home,
For Christian service and true chivalry,

As is the sepulchre in stubborn Jewry,

Of the world's ransom, blessed Mary's son:

This land of such dear souls, this dear, dear land,
Dear for her reputation through the world,

Is now leas'd out, (I die pronouncing it,)
Like to a tenement or pelting farm."

[ocr errors]

Act II. Sc. 1.

[ocr errors][merged small]

That, in a Christian climate, souls refin'd,

Sc. 2.

[merged small][ocr errors]

And in this seat of peace tumultuous wars.' - Act IV. Sc. 1.

Is not this the same land, seat, breed of men, wits refined, majesty? — and the "stories or fables" are merely particularized in the play, with a greater amplification throughout; but the tone, style, and manner are the same. And "the ancient fable of Atlas," says Bacon," that stood fixed, and bare up the heaven from falling," was "meant of the poles or axletree of heaven; so assuredly men have a desire to have an Atlas or axletree within, to keep them from fluctuation"; and the metaphor is repeated in the play, thus:

"L (Strong as the axletree

On which heaven rides)";- Troi. and Cr. Act I. Sc. 3.

and in the letter to Essex, thus:

"And this is the axletree whereupon I have turned and shall turn.”

The Masque proceeds thus:

"Your Majesty's sacred presence hath wrought the strangest innovation that ever was in the world. You have here before you Seeing-Love, a Prince indeed, but of greater territories than all the Indies: armed after the Indian manner with bow and arrow, and when he is in his ordinary habit an Indian naked, or attired with feathers, though now for comeliness clad.

[“Bur. If you would conjure in her you must make a circle; if conjure up love in her in his true likeness, he must appear naked and blind. Can you blame her, then, being a maid yet ros'd over with the virgin crimson of modesty, if she deny the appearance of a naked blind boy in her naked seeing self." - Henry V., Act V. Sc. 2.]

--

To procure his pardon for the strategem which he hath used, —

["Alack, alack! that Heaven should practice strategems
Upon so soft a subject as myself!'

Rom. and J., Act 111. Sc. 5.]

and to show his thankfulness for his sight which he hath by you received, he presents your Majesty with all that is his; his gift and property to be ever young;

["Then crush this herb into Lysander's eye;

Whose liquor hath this virtuous property,
To take from thence all error with his might,
And make his eye-balls roll with wonted sight."

Mid. N. Dr., Act III. Sc. 2.

"Is there not charms,

By which the property of youth and maidhood
May be abused?" — Oth. Act I. Sc. 1.]

his wings of liberty to fly from one to another; his bow and arrows to wound where it pleaseth you;

["And therefore is wing'd Cupid painted blind:

[ocr errors]

Wings, and no eyes, figure unheedy haste." — Act I. Sc. 1.

"And therefore hath the wind-swift Cupid wings."

Rom. and J., Act II. Sc. 5.]

and withal humbly desireth that, though Philautia hath hitherto so prevailed with your Majesty, as you would never accept him while he was an imperfect piece, yet now he is accomplished by your Majesty's grace and means, that you will vouchsafe him entertainment. For all the challenge that ever hath been made to Love or his band, hath been, if it be rightly interpreted, only to his want of eyesight.

["Nurse.

Faith, here it is. Romeo

Is banished; and all the world to nothing,
That he dares ne'er come back to challenge you."

Rom. and J., Act III. Sc. 5.]

Lovers are charged to aspire too high: it is as the poor dove, which when her eyes are sealed still mounteth up into the air. descending too low; it is as the poor mole, which of the air diveth into the darkness of the earth.

They are charged with seeing not the clearness

["Her. O cross! too high to be enthrall'd to low! — ...
O spite! too old to be engaged to young!
O Hell! to choose love by another's eyes!

...

...

Lys. The jaws of darkness do devour it up."

Mid. N. Dr., Act I. Sc. 1.]

They are sometimes charged with presuming too far: it is as the blind man, who looketh in humanity that any seeing man should give him way. They are accused sometimes to be timorous: it is as the blind stalks and lifts high when the way is smooth. They are taxed to be credulous: why the blind are ever led. They are said at other times to be incredulous: the blind must feel that which it sufficeth another to see. How can they know times justly, that go by the clock and not by the sun? And how can they know measure, that see as well a mote as a beam.

["Bir. You found his mote; the King your mote did see; But I a beam do find in each of thee."

Love's L. L., Act IV. Sc. 8.

"Nor dare I chide the world-without-end hour,

Whilst I (my sovereign) watch the clock for you." — Sonnet.]

This makes poor lovers used as blind horses, ever going round about in a wheel: and this makes them ever unfortunate, for when blind love leads blind fortune, how can they keep out of the ditch?

["Thisb. O! As truest horse, that yet would never tire.
Pyr. If I were fair Thisby, I were only thine:
Quin. O monstrous! O strange! we are haunted.
Pray, Masters! fly, Masters! help.

[Exeunt Clowns.

Puck. I'll follow you, I'll lead you about a round, Through bog, through bush, through brake, through brier: Sometime a horse I'll be, sometime a hound,

A hog, a headless bear, sometime a fire;

And neigh, and bark, and grunt, and roar, and burn,
Like horse, hound, hog, bear, fire, at every turn."

Mid. N. Dr., Act III. Sc. 1.]

But now that Love hath gotten possession of his sight, there can be no error in policy or dignity to receive him. Nay, Philautia herself will subscribe to his admission. Then your Majesty shall first see your own invaluable value, and thereby discern that the favours you vouchsafe are pure gifts and no exchanges. And if any be so happy as to have his affection accepted, yet your prerogative is such as they stand bound, and your Majesty is free: . . .

[In maiden meditation, fancy-free.]

Your Majesty shall obtain the curious window into hearts of which the ancients speak; thereby you shall discern protestation from fulness of heart, ceremonies and fashions from a habit of mind that can do no other, affectation from affection."

[merged small][merged small][ocr errors][ocr errors]

But can you affection the 'oman?" - Mer. Wives, Act I. Sc. 1.

"Bir. Studies my lady? Mistress look on me:

Behold the window of my heart, mine eye." - Love's L. L., Act V. Sc. 2.

"To thee I do commend my watchful soul,

Ere I let fall the windows of mine eyes."— Rich. III. Act V. Sc. 3.]

Again he says:

"But contrariwise her Majesty, not liking to make windows into men s hearts and secret thoughts" 1

And this same window of the ancients appears again thus:

"Let the first precept then (on which the knowledge of others turns) be set down as this: that we obtain (as far as we can) that window which

1 Letter drafted for Walsingham (1590), Spedd. Let. and Life, I. 98.

Momus required; who, seeing in the frame of man's heart such angles and recesses, found fault that there was not a window to look into its mysterious and tortuous windings." 1

It is very plain that this Masque was written to be exhibited before the Queen. These extracts will be sufficient for the purpose of comparison. William Shakespeare could never have seen this Masque. The "Midsummer Night's Dream," though not printed until 1600, may possibly have been performed on the stage before the Masque was written; but it would be idle to imagine any other kind of plagiarism or imitation to be possible here, than that which one and the same full mind may unconsciously make upon itself; and these outcroppings of the same ideas, words, and expressions, in compositions written at about the same time, are altogether too numerous, striking, palpable, and peculiar to admit of explanation on any supposition of the common usage of the time, or accidental coincidence. And since the "Midsummer Night's Dream" has been assigned, almost by general consent of the critics, to the year 1594, these resemblances to the Masque may be taken as some evidence that these fragments belong to some occasion, which was at least as early as 1594.

1 Trans. of the De Aug., Works (Boston), IX. 271.

« ПредишнаНапред »